Breast reconstruction using a “free flap” from the patient’s abdomen is a safe procedure with a high success rate in older women opting for reconstruction after mastectomy, reports a study in the December issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).
Although the risk of some complications is higher, free-flap reconstruction has “generally good outcomes” in women aged 65 or older, according to the report by ASPS Member Surgeon Oren Tessler, MD, MBA, and colleagues of Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans.
“Older women desire breast reconstruction after mastectomy, and should be offered all reconstruction options available,” Tessler comments, in a media release from ASPS.